Vaporization devices include various common components including a coil, a vaporization chamber, a battery, a mouthpiece, and a reservoir. The reservoir is filled with electronic liquid (“e-liquid”) which can be composed of essential oils and other chemicals such as nicotine and/or cannabinoids. A wick acts as a bridge between the e-liquid in the reservoir and the vaporization chamber. It is the coil that plays a key element in vaping at the right temperature for the particular e-liquid as it is responsible for reaching a certain temperature maintaining the same. Not enough heat means no vapor, too much heat and the device will not serve its purpose, and could potentially produce toxins.
A vaporizer pen works by heating up the e-liquid, to a specific temperature then releasing its active substance/essential oils in the form of water vapor. By using this particular process, the plant materials are not burned, and this means that there is no combustion (emission of smoke or other toxic chemicals like carbon dioxide), unlike that of traditional smoking of tobacco and other dry herbs.
As a vape pen is portable, it must be properly charged in order to work. A lithium-ion battery is mostly used with cordless vaporizers, and these batteries can either be charged using a wall adapter, portable charging case, or a USB charger. Once the lithium-ion battery is fully charged, a device is ready to use. Using a vaporizer pen involves inhaling directly through the tip of a mouthpiece on the device. When sensors inside the cylinder or tube sense the inhalation via a change in pressure or otherwise, they activate what is known as the atomizer to heat up. When the atomizer heats up—it begins to heat the e-liquid in the reservoir. The substance vaped is heated to a specific temperature (below that of combustion/smoke), but still creates the tasty water vapor from the essential oils of the material.
The e-liquid that is often used with a vapor pen comes in a variety of strengths of nicotine, ranging from 0 to 36 mg, with a normal cigarette having approximately 12 mg by comparison. Often vaporization pens are utilized to cut down on nicotine use, by moving from higher levels of nicotine to lower levels of nicotine, to eventually zero nicotine, while at the same time, achieving an enjoyable vaping experience by vaping hundreds of the available e-liquid flavors on the market.
Vaporizers work by using heating elements that heat up the herbs to the point of boiling or vaporization, but not too hot to otherwise burn the botanicals. Many portable vaporizers feature efficient heating systems with adjustable temperature settings to give greater freedom to get to the exact temperature preferred.
When vaping marijuana, for example, vaping temperatures ranging from 175° C. to 190° C. tend to result in more sedative or relaxing effects, also depending in part on the strain of the plant involved. But, any temperature that goes beyond 230° C. renders the herbs to combustion. Many vaporization pens do not feature adjustable heat settings, and therefore, it is often more difficult to get the best result from a mix of different chemicals, and even from a single herb or essential oil due to the burning of some quickly at a particular temperature and dominating the flavor/effect. Each herb or plant can have hundreds of cannabinoids, each of which may have a unique boiling and vaporization temperature.
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is more often vaped at a temperature of between about 155° C. to 160° C. It is perhaps the most essential and sought-after cannabinoid among medical and most especially recreational marijuana users. Taken in adequate doses, THC can help alleviate symptoms of pain and other physical discomfort. Some studies have also shown that this cannabinoid protects brain cells and can even promote growth. Different cannabis strains contain varying levels of THC and proportions of other cannabinoids. For example, the Sativa varieties boast the highest amount of THC, while Indica ones contain more of the other health-giving cannabinoids than the more psychoactive THC.
Cannabidiol, otherwise known as CBD, has a vaping temperature of between about 160° C. to 180° C. This cannabinoid is as abundant as THC in any cannabis plant. And while the major controversies surrounding marijuana use actually focus on the effects of THC with all those reported highs and psychomotor impairments in large doses, CBD offers a more promising use of cannabis in the medical field.
Contrary to common perception, CBD is non-psychoactive, meaning that it does not interfere with your judgment or motor skills. Rather, and more importantly, are the therapeutic effects of CBD. These include the cannabinoid's anti-convulsant (suppresses epileptic seizures), anti-cancer (hampers the growth of tumor cells), anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties (fights against neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease). Studies also show that CBD alleviates anxiety and depression.
Unlike THC, Cannabidol (“CBN”), with a vaping temperature of about 185° C. has the opposite effect of inducing sleep, making this a good drug for those suffering from insomnia. But beyond its sedative effects, CBN has also been found to combat methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), a powerful bacteria that's been hard to eliminate because of its resistance to antibiotics. Cannabinol does not occur naturally in fresh cannabis. Instead, it becomes the byproduct formed as THC degrades over time.
Tobacco vaporizes at between about 120-150° C. (257-302° F.).
Of course, cannabis herb is not the only plant vaporized. Other herbs are also popular for vaping and offer soothing and relaxing sensations when vaporized and inhaled. In fact, many of these plants contain substances that have more subtle psychoactive effects.
For example, some preferred vaping temperatures for the following dry herbs are: eucalyptus, 266° F. (130° C.); hops, 309° F. (154° C.); chamomile, 374° F. (190° C.); lavender, 266° F. (130° C.); lemon balm, 288° F. (142° C.); sage, 374° F. (190° C.); thyme, 374° F. (190° C.). These temperatures provide aromatherapy benefits as well. These temperatures are also ideal for aromatherapy.
The composition of essential oils is typically complicated. Essential oils are constituted by terpenoid hydrocarbons, oxygenated terpenes and sesquiterpenes. They originate from the plant secondary metabolism and are responsible for their characteristic aroma. Although the essential oils have a great number of components, the ones of commercial interest are generally those composed of one or two major components, which provides them with accurate features. Nonetheless, in some cases, the minor components are also important because they might provide the oils with exquisite perfume, that is why this kind of material must be handled with care. The extraction, preservation and conditioning of such a material are very important in order not to alter its composition, and equally, when vaporized, effective temperatures should be maintained to get the most benefit from the same. Each essential oil has a different boiling point and contains a variety of different terpenes (which are the fragrance molecules)—and it is possible to experience a different flavor and effect from one temperature to the next.
This balance of and reaction between constituents is also what makes one oil more or less toxic than another. The proportion of a toxic constituent in one oil may be balanced by other constituents which make the potential toxin less significant and allow the oil to be useful in therapy.
E-liquid contains at least four ingredients including propylene glycol (“PG”) and vegetable glycol (“VG”), nicotine and/or cannabis, and water. Propylene glycol is relatively thin in consistency, is runnier than the VG variety, and is more easily absorbed by the wick. The low density also lends itself to less build up on the heating element of the pen as fast as when thicker vegetable glycerin liquid is used. VG is a considerably thicker solution, compared to PG. On its own, VG has a slight sweet taste which also makes the e-liquid sweeter and the flavors a little difficult to detect. Although mixing e-liquid to create a personalized blend is becoming more common, it is not the easiest of tasks due to the different consistencies of PG, VG and water.
PG boils at 188° C. (370° F.) while VG boils at 290° C. (554° F.). Thus, vaping at 100% VG involves higher coil temperatures (water does not mitigate temps since it evaporates early).
As mentioned, vaporizing pens are not provided with heat control mechanisms. With pens, a closed circuit, administered by a sensor, for instance, but not limited to, an air sensor or pressure sensor, in communication with the printed circuit board (PCB) and the battery, activates the heating element which then vaporizes the exposed herbs or nicotine in the e-liquid which are delivered to the vaporization chamber. There is no way to easily adjust the temperature in vaporizing pens. Some attempts to control a vaping temperature of a single e-liquid in a pen, which can contain many different chemicals with desired effects, have been proposed including pressing and holding an activation button (if it has one) down to heat the coil, releasing the button a few seconds after. Then pressing again and releasing again in a rhythmic sequence, thereby preventing the coil from operating at full capacity, and resulting in a slightly cooler temperature and even battery savings. Another proposal is for when not inhaling for a long time, turning the vaporizer off, rather than relying on the automatic shut-off mechanism of the device to save on battery and vapors. Other vaporizers are designed with an embedded heating element so that the herbs inside the chamber are not directly exposed, thus keeping the materials from burning.
Overheating a coil will burn the chemicals in an e-liquid such that at least the beneficial effects are not obtained, and at the most, the burned chemicals or even the wick can be toxic, harmful and have an unpleasant taste. It is difficult to mix different e-liquids for vaporization at least because different e-liquids have different viscosities and do not always easily mix; and e-liquids contain different herbs with different chemicals which, as mentioned above, have different temperatures of vaporization.
A device is needed, therefore, which can more completely vaporize a plurality of chemicals in a plurality of e-liquids at the same time, thereby providing a vaping experience which combines the effects of each component in a particular e-liquid at the same time.